Sports Monday, February 22, 2021 19

QATAR SUPERSTOCK 600 ROUND 2 RACE 1 Experienced Saeed Al Sulaiti makes it splendid 3-in-a-row India’s Rohit Sharma (right) with Jasprit Bumrah during practice. Don’t discuss pitches, talk about players and their game: Rohit ANI There are chances you could Ahmedabad fail but it does not matter as long as you learn from that. India batsman Rohit Shar- Our team prides itself on play- ma on Sunday said that there ing in challenging conditions, should not be much discussion we never complain when we about the pitches, rather the play on a challenging people should be talking about outside India. To the experts, the cricketers and how they go talk about the game, do not on about playing their game. discuss pitches.” The four-match series On Saturday, India bats- Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) officials with Qatar Superstock 600 Second Round Race 1 between India and England man Cheteshwar Pujara had podium finishers Saeed Al Sulaiti, Abdullah Al Qubaisi, and Meshaal Al Nuaimi at Losail Circuit on Saturday. currently stands level at 1-1 also defended the Chennai and now both teams will lock wicket and said it was not at Thani, who timed 26.37.337 weekend,” he said. role in his superiority over Ab- horns in a pink-ball Test, be- all “dangerous” and it was just secs. Canadian Stephen Turn- “Certainly, strong winds dullah Al Qubaisi. ginning February 24 at the a matter of the wicket offering bull finished third in a time of do not help riders, but at the However, Al Qubaisi has a Motera Stadium. some turn. 26.53.447 secs. same time they gain more ex- natural talent but he does not In the first innings of the “Sometimes you know Meanwhile, Youssef Al perience that will undoubtedly have the experience of Sulaiti. second Test, Rohit had gone when you are playing on a Darwish also clinched the benefit them in the future, es- There is also Youssef Al Dar- on to play a knock of 161 as turning track, you find it dif- Saeed Al Sulaiti celebrates his Qatar Superstock 600 Second Round QSSP 300 class overall title, pecially since every race has wish, who has a good future, India posted 329 runs on ficult but at the same time, it Race 1 win at the Losail International Circuit on Saturday. after winning the Race 2. Dar- its different circumstances especially as he is a fast rider the board. As a result of this was not a dangerous pitch at wish finished with 50 points, and challenges. It is better for and has high potential.” knock, he also attained 14th all. When the ball spins you Tribune News Network Sulaiti’s hopes of continu- 12 ahead of Hamad Al Sahouti. our young riders to face all cir- position in ICC Test batsmen know people find it difficult Doha ing his dominating form was On Saturday, Darwish cumstances so that they are Results rankings. The second Test to score runs, especially the left disappointed after the sec- won the second race in a time ready for any scenario,” Al Ru- QSTK 600 Race 1 pitch led to some sort of criti- overseas teams. When we go Seasoned Saeed al Sulaiti ond race was postponed due to of 16.21.928 seconds. Saad maihi said. 1. Saeed Al Sulaiti Time: cism from former players like overseas and we play on seam- had to bring in his experience rain and extreme wind at the Al Harqan came second in On the success of the 25.12.849 secs Michael Vaughan and Mark ing tracks, the game finishes to edge Abdullah Al Qubaisi Losail International Circuit. 16.31.575 secs, while Sahouti championship despite the pre- 2. Abdullah Al Qubaisi Waugh and the duo termed in three or four days. We still and win Race 1 of the second The organising committee of was third in 16.37.293 secs. vialing pandemic, the LCSC 25.12.949 secs the pitch as “sub-standard”. have to play on such round in the Qatar Superstock the championship has now de- Khaled Al Rumaihi, Vice official said: “The success is 3. Meshaal Al Nuaimi “Pitch is the same for both where there is a lot of grass or 600 at the Losail International cided to hold the race during President of the Losail Cir- due to the concerted efforts of 25.43.119 secs teams. I do not know why seam movement,” Pujara had Circuit on Saturday. the third round of the cham- cuit Sports Club (LCSC) was state institutions, which have Trophy class there is so much discussion said while replying to an ANI Sulaiti, who had won the pionship. pleased with the performance put precautionary measures 1. Youssef Al Darwish about the pitch. Both teams query during a virtual press opening two races of the sea- After three races, al-Sulaiti of the riders in the second in place, to which we are fully 25.47.350 secs play on the same turf and if conference on Saturday. son, made it three-in-a-row leads championship table with round, despite difficult weath- committed. It is well-known 2. Khalid Al Thani 26.37.337 people start talking about the “In turning tracks, one with another splendid show. a perfect 75 points, 15 ahead of er conditions at the weekend. that Qatar organises events secs pitch, I just want to say pitches cannot define how much the The 35-year-old covered the Qubaisi, while Nuaimi has 48 “The youngsters are very in the most difficult circum- 3. Stephen Turnball 26.53.447 in India have always been like ball can spin. It is a very thin 12-lap race of 64.6 km in a points. keen to participate in the stances.” secs this. I do not think there were line in that way. I do not think time of 25.12.849 seconds, a In the Trophy class catego- championship, which has led Regarding competition in QSSP 300 class any changes, everyone takes it was a bad pitch, it always be- mere 0.100 seconds ahead of ry, rookie Youssef Al Darwish to an increase in the number QSTK, he said: “The compe- 1 Yousif Al Darwish Time: the home advantage, when comes difficult in the second his closest competitor and de- took the top honours. The of contestants, The level of the tition is very good, although 16.21.928 seconds we go outside, nobody thinks innings, this is how it is. When fending champion Qubaisi. youngster clocked 25.47.350 competition has improved sig- Saeed Al Sulaiti has won three 2. Saad Al Harqan 16.31.575 secs about us so why should we we play in Australia, there are Meshaal Al Nuaimi fin- seconds, to comfortably finish nificantly despite the difficult consecutive races thanks to his 3. Hamad Al Sahouti think about others? We should cracks on days four and five, it ished third in 25.43.119. ahead of compatriot Khaled Al weather conditions during the experience, which had a major 16.37.293 secs. do things as per the preference is a little dangerous, the odd- of our team, this is what home ball hits the crack and it might advantage is all about,” said take off. As a team I do not Rohit during a virtual press think we had any issues, once conference on Sunday. opposition teams start playing “If you remove the home more on these pitches, they Shaheen, Hafeez power Qalandars to win and away advantage, tell the will be fine,” he had added. ICC to make rules regarding India had achieved an em- Agencies 26 balls, hitting five fours. four overs, which bagged him what the pitch should be. The phatic 317-run win against Eng- , Qalandars’ the player-of-the-match award. same kind of pitch should be land in the second Test of the platinum pick, blasted his way were reeling at made in India and outside In- ongoing four-match series. As a , 2020 to 27 off 15 balls as he smashed four for 46 in the eighth over, dia as well. When we go out- result, the series stands level at runners-up, got off to a win- three fours and a six, which before and Sher- side, people make life difficult 1-1 and the Virat Kohli-led side ning start with a four-wicket sealed the match. fane Rutherford got together for us as well. I do not think has also reached the second victory against Peshawar Zal- Qalandars were provided and stitched a valuable 64 runs pitches need to be discussed spot in World Test Champion- mi in the second match of HBL an excellent start by Shaheen for the fifth-wicket. Bopara top- this much, talk about the play- ship (WTC) standings. PSL 6 at Karachi’s National Shah . The left-arm scored with a 44-ball 50. His in- ers and their game. There India remain in conten- Stadium on Sunday. Qaland- quick induced a leading edge nings included six boundaries. should not be much discussion tion to make the final of the ars, who had never won their off Imam-ul-Haq on the first Scores: 140-6 about the pitch,” he added. ICC World Test Champion- opening match in any of the ball of the match with a deliv- (Ravi Bopara 50, Further elaborating on his ship. The victory in Chennai on five previous editions, made ery that shaped away from the 26, 26; point, Rohit said: “As a bats- Tuesday has lifted India to the history in the 19th over. left-handed batsman to pro- Shaheen Afridi 3-14) lost to man, I try to focus on adapt- second position with 69.7 per- Qalandars chased down vide the first breakthrough. Lahore Qalandars 143-6, 18.3 ing myself to the pitch condi- centage points on the points the 141-run target for the loss Shaheen bowled impecca- overs (Mohd Hafeez 33 , tions. This is the reason we table but they cannot afford of six wickets with nine balls ble lengths, denying the oppo- Rashid Khan 27 not out; Saqib all are here, there are many to lose another match as they to spare. Lahore Qalandars’ Shaheen Shah Afridi celebrates after taking the wick- sition batsman any opportuni- Mahmood 2-22, who want to play but need to win 2-1 or 3-1 to qualify anchored the Qalandars in- et of Peshawar Zalmi’s Sherfane Rutherford during their Super ties to score against him, and 2-30) by four wickets. MOM: you are here because you un- for the final of the maiden edi- nings with an unbeaten 33 off League match at the National Stadium in Karachi on Sunday. (AFP) finished with three for 14 in Shaheen Shah Afridi. derstand the pitch conditions. tion of the championship.

Leipzig cut Bayern lead to two points Sensei Mirza awards belts to karatekas

DPA “Very important three Berlin points,” Sabtizer told broad- caster Sky. “If we focus on our RB Leipzig secured an impor- game it [title race] will be ex- tant 3-0 win at Hertha Berlin citing until the end. It doesn’t to move within two points of help to talk about it [title], we Bundesliga leaders Bayern have to do something.” Munich on Sunday while an While Leipzig can dream Edmond Tapsoba goal deep with the trophy, Hertha have into stoppage-time secured relegation nightmares. Bayer Leverkusen a point with They stay out of the danger a 1-1 draw at Augsburg. zone but tied on 18 points with In the late Sunday clash, Arminia Bielefeld, who occupy Hoffenheim put up a stunning the relegation play-off spot. performance to beat Werder “We had our goal chanc- Bremen 4-0. Leipzig’s Hungarian defender Willi Orban (left) and Austrian midfielder es to take the lead, to tie. At Leipzig opened the scor- Marcel Sabitzer celebrate their Bundesliga 3-0 win over Hertha Berlin the end you look at the re- ing in the first half just when in Berlin, Germany, on Sunday. (AFP) sult, it doesn’t make us look Hertha seemed quite danger- good,” Hertha coach Pal ous. Sabtizer’s spectacular ef- early in the second half. With six minutes left on Dardai said. fort from outside of the box But Leipzig avoided any the clock Willi Orban headed “It’s psychologically diffi- stunned keeper Rune Jarstein, extra drama as Nordi Mukiele in a third after an assist from cult for the boys, defeat after Sensei Mirza Gazanfar (seen in the pic with partcipants) awarded karate belts to Aman Hadi, Mirza Yousef, who was left helpless. fired the ball into the net. Sabitzer to clinch the three defeat. Saheer K C, Shahabas Shahul, Muhammad A Hakeem, Etakkandy Rafi, Qaiser Ahmad, Shabana Riaz and Hertha had chances equal- There was a video assistant points in Berlin and capitalize “The passion was there, Maryam Baig following a test organised by Shotokan Karate Ryu (SKR) recently. SKR is affiliated with Kiyo ize but keeper Peter Gulacsi referee (VAR) review but the on Bayern’s 2-1 loss at Eintra- but you need to score goals,” Japan Shotokan Karate – do Association. Karate grading for 6th kyu (orange belt), 5th Kyu (Green belt) and saved Matheus Cunha’s shot goal stood. cht Frankfurt on Saturday. he added. 4th Kyu (blue belt) were decided following competitions.